The Maharishi AyurvedaSM Approach to PMS

The Raj program for PMS is conducted under the supervision of an Ayurveda Health Consultant and draws on knowledge from Maharishi Ayurveda, the world's oldest and most complete system of natural health care.

Through its unique assessment of causal imbalances at the basis of a condition and its wide range of time-tested recommendations, Maharishi Ayurveda provides the most comprehensive natural approach for PMS available today.

Ayurveda Assessment of Balance and Imbalance in PMS

A quick review of menstruation shows how many imbalances could contribute to the pre-menstrual syndrome condition. Therefore, gaining true relief from PMS will usually require a multifaceted, natural approach like the one offered at The Raj.

Ayurveda theory points to the buildup of toxins and impurities and blockage of circulation as a major contributing factor in PMS symptoms. When these impurities and blockages accumulate in the female reproductive area, they predispose the woman to many symptoms during the heightened activity and transformation of menstruation. Improper diet, poor digestion and blocked elimination can all play a major role in this toxin accumulation.

Many women also experience increased symptoms when under more mental stress and nervous system strain. Also, since menstruation is a natural physiological rhythm, it can be imbalanced when other biological rhythms are disturbed through poor patterns of eating and sleeping.

An important contribution of Ayurveda to the understanding of PMS comes from the understanding that the type of symptoms a woman experiences during PMS depend largely on the type of imbalance that is present in the physiology when the menstrual cycle begins. Ayurveda describes three major divisions of physiological functioning called Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Vata imbalance predisposes women to symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, headache and interrupted flow as the menstrual cycle begins. Pitta imbalance predisposes women to anger, irritability, excessive heat, poor complexion and pain during menstruation. Kapha imbalance predisposes women to depression, heaviness and lethargy as menstruation begins. This understanding of imbalance provides a new perspective as to why different women experience different symptoms during menstruation and helps our Ayurveda Health Consultants properly target the root imbalances at the basis of the condition.

Because so many factors contribute to the condition, the Ayurveda assessment of balance and imbalance does not simply identify the gross physical abnormality and match up drugs to a symptom. This is because people can have the same disease for different reasons. For example, ten people could walk into a doctor's office with a headache and have it for ten different reasons. Likewise, not everyone has PMS for the same reasons.

Ayurveda evaluation determines the imbalances in the functioning modes of the body i.e. Vata, Pita and Kapha. These underlying imbalances are the root causes of a condition and must be removed if real healing is to occur. By determining the causal imbalances at the basis of a disorder, Ayurveda assessments help our Ayurveda Health Consultants address the fundamental source of ill health in the individual.

Since PMS can be influenced by many factors, such as diet, digestion, toxin accumulation, stress, exercise levels and daily routine, the Ayurveda approach to the condition is a comprehensive one that balances many physiological functions simultaneously.

The Root Causes of PMS

Following are the general types of imbalances at the source of most chronic conditions, including PMS:

Toxins accumulating in tissues and blocking circulation.

Poor nutrition.

Poor digestion.

Imbalance of the nervous system

Accumulation of physical and mental stress.

Lowering of natural resistance and immunity

Disruption of natural biological rhythms

The common modern medical approach to match drugs to symptoms does not completely address many of these factors. As a result, modern medicine often cannot fully remove the disorder and the condition becomes chronic. Chronic means that the condition persists over time even with the best modern medical treatment. Currently over 100 million Americans suffer from a chronic condition, indicating that some new approach is needed in our health care.

A Natural Treatment Program for PMS

Following is a discussion of how The Raj program for chronic conditions provides the most comprehensive set of natural recommendations available today to address the true causes of PMS. These therapies are not only effective at removing the imbalances at the basis of chronic disorders but also have no significant side-effects. The goal of this Ayurveda approach is to enliven the body's natural healing and self-repair ability not only to help cure PMS, but also to prevent disorders and create the highest state of health and well-being.

1) Removing the Buildup of toxins and impurities:

Most chronic disorders start when toxins accumulate in tissues and begin to disrupt the delicate biochemistry there. Toxin buildup can also obstruct the channels of circulation and elimination. This blockage prevents proper nutrition from reaching the tissues and blocks the processes that cleanse them of impurities.

Maharishi RejuvenationSM Therapy Treatments

The most powerful treatments for removing toxins and opening circulation are the Maharishi Rejuvenation therapy treatments you receive each day of your in-residence stay. This daily three-hour treatment program of massage, heat treatment and mild herbal enema is the cornerstone of your in-residence stay at The Raj. The combination of these three treatments received every day for 5 to 21 days creates the ideal internal physical environment for healing.

Loosening impurities that have become embedded in tissues and helping liquefy them for easy absorption into the circulation and eventual elimination.

Softening and opening the channels of circulation and elimination so proper nourishment can reach the tissues and impurities can be more easily eliminated from them.

Activating the elimination process for the most thorough cleansing of the entire physiology.

Herbalized Oil Massage

Herbalized oil massage is used both at home and in our in-residence treatments to aid the cleansing process.

Your Ayurveda Health Consultant will choose a specific herbalized oil that is individually prepared for your condition. You will also be instructed in the technique of Ayurveda massage, which involves using specific strokes over different parts of the body.

Herbalized oil massage provides a deeply soothing and balancing effect for the entire physiology. The motion of massage creates heat and friction which enhance circulation and help cleanse affected tissues of chemical impurities that could be causing symptoms of PMS. The oil and herbs cleanse and nourish the tissues to aid their repair and development.

The various herbs that have been boiled into a base oil, and the oil itself, are specifically chosen for their effect on removing the imbalances at the basis of your condition. The oil helps the balancing process by allowing the herbs to more deeply penetrate the affected tissues.

Your program involves two types of Ayurveda herbalized massage:

The home program involves herbalized self-massage for 5-10 minutes in the morning before you take your shower.

During the in-residence portion of your program, highly trained Ayurveda technicians daily perform very specialized massage for you, using oils in which as many as 50 herbs have been cured. These special oils are only available as part of the in-residence program.

2) Proper Nutrition

Your Ayurveda Health Consultant will provide you with detailed understanding of which foods to favor and avoid for your condition. Avoid foods that are hard-to-digest, clogging to the physiology and aggravating to the functioning modes that are already imbalanced in you. Favor foods that are easy-to-digest, nourishing, cleanse the physiology, strengthen digestion and balance your body's inner intelligence.

One of the great strengths of the Ayurveda dietary approach is that it contains knowledge of how to have a light, easy-to-digest diet that still is both satisfying and nourishing. Many individuals have easily followed this diet and have improved their digestion and energy while also reducing their symptoms.

Proper food preparation

During your in-residence stay at The Raj you will also learn the basic principles of Ayurveda cooking. The Raj cooking classes provide knowledge of how to prepare foods in ways that create maximum nourishment for the body and that prevent incomplete digestion and clogged circulation.

Ayurveda Herbs

Herbs are considered nutritional supplements in Ayurveda. Their purpose is to restore balance to the specific functioning modes whose malfunctioning is causing your condition. During your consultation, our Ayurveda Health Consultants select the appropriate herbal formulas for aiding the healing process, strengthening digestion and helping the body purify itself of toxins and free radicals.

Free radicals are a specific class of chemicals that are highly irritating to the physiology. Scientific research has found that free radicals contribute to a wide variety of disorders. When appropriate, our Ayurveda Health Consultants can recommend Ayurveda herbs that research has shown to be powerful anti-oxidants and free radical scavengers. Two Maharishi Ayurveda herbal preparations have been shown to have 1000 times more anti-oxidant activity than either vitamin C or E. Ayurveda herbs can also have a holistic influence of balancing and nourishing the entire physiology.

Traditional Ayurveda theory says that herbs are most effective after a person completes an internal cleansing program. The cleansing and rejuvenation treatments that you will receive daily are the main focus of your in-residence stay. Once this program is finished, you are ready to gain maximum benefits from your herbal program.

3) Creating strong digestion

Our ability to properly digest food is as important as what specific food we eat. Incompletely digested foods create toxins and impurities that are eventually absorbed, travel throughout the physiology, localize in tissues and disrupt their functioning. This process plays a major role in a wide variety of chronic conditions, including PMS.

Your Ayurveda Health Consultants will provide recommendations for strengthening digestion including information in the following areas:

4) Balancing nervous system activity

The nervous system controls most bodily functions, and almost every chronic condition is affected in some way when the nervous system activity becomes imbalanced. According to Ayurveda, the physiological principle at the basis of nervous system stability and activation is called Vata. Because nervous system imbalance contributes to PMS, from the Ayurveda perspective Vata imbalance is an underlying cause of the condition and needs to be reversed.

Maharishi Ayurveda contains a wide variety of time-tested Ayurveda recommendations to help balance Vata and remove the symptoms caused by its aggravation. These include specific diets, herbs, cleansing programs, the Transcendental Meditation technique, Yoga asanas and Yoga breathing exercises.

5) Stress management

Excessive mental, emotional and physical stress can worsen the symptoms of many chronic disorders, including PMS. This is due to hormonal changes and other biochemical responses to stress that can imbalance the nervous system and depress the healing ability of the body.

Enhancing the body's ability to recover from stress is an integral part of The Raj's approach to health and well-being. The following Raj in-residence programs help reverse the body's response to stress:

If you choose to learn meditation during your in-residence stay at The Raj, highly trained teachers of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program are available to instruct you. The TM technique has a wealth of scientific research verifying its effect on reducing many of the mental and stress factors associated with PMS. Research shows that TM practice creates virtually the opposite physiological response that stress does and helps the body recover more quickly from stressful stimuli.

Practice of the TM technique twice a day is a powerful mind-body healing approach to the problems of PMS . The TM program at The Raj gets your practice off to a strong start, and your instructor will help connect you with the local TM program center in your home area for any follow-up that you may desire.

6) Lifestyle and Daily Routine

One of the most important factors for maintaining healthy functioning is to have a lifestyle that does not disturb natural bodily rhythms. When we eat, sleep and exercise in constantly fluctuating and disturbing patterns, the body loses its natural balancing cycles and cannot cleanse or heal itself as effectively. Therefore, regularity in our daily routine can be extremely effective in reducing physiological imbalance at the basis of PMS.

Our Ayurveda Health Consultant will review your daily routine and provide the information you need to create a daily schedule that will increase balance in your physiology and aid in healing your body.

7) Exercise and Flexibility Education

Maharishi Ayurveda considers proper stretching and flexibility exercises to have a very positive effect on circulation, nervous system function, the body's healing response and the treatment of many chronic conditions.

During your in-residence stay at The Raj, we offer Yoga classes every day and teach you a simple but profound set of postures that can be practiced daily to improve circulation and create a healthy flexibility throughout the body. We also instruct you in individualized Yoga breathing practices that create a state of restful alertness in mind and body.

These in-residence courses give you knowledge you can continue to apply after you leave The Raj to maintain your progress in alleviating the symptoms of PMS.

Ultimately every treatment approach must depend on the body's natural healing ability for a real cure of the condition. Maharishi Ayurveda's approach is not to attack the disease with something from the outside, like drugs or surgery, but to attempt to enliven the innate healing response of the body.

The healing response is one of the most complex and coordinated activities within the human physiology and often cannot be strengthened significantly without a comprehensive natural approach like that provided at The Raj.

Taken together, all the Maharishi Ayurveda programs described above aim to create the ideal mental, physical and behavioral environment for healing.